A man from Sussex who murdered a transgender woman he met online has been jailed for life, the Metropolitan Police said.

Jesse McDonald, 25, from Haywards Heath, was sentenced on Thursday (November 1), to life imprisonment with a minimum to serve 20 years for the murder of 36-year-old Naomi, from north London, who was found with multiple stab wounds at the Heathrow Palace Hotel in Cranford, on Sunday, March 18.

Jesse McDonald, from Haywards Heath, has been jailed for life. ''Photo supplied by Met Police

The 25-year-old grew up in Haywards Heath, according to the BBC, and was born in Brighton.

Detective Inspector Tom Dahri, of the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “McDonald lied through his teeth throughout his whole trial and now he will be able to spend the next 20 years in prison thinking about his actions.

“I hope that Naomi’s family will be able to take some comfort in the fact that the killer of their beloved child will spend a very long time away from being able to harm anyone else. They finally have justice.”

McDonald’s girlfriend, Natalia Darkowska, 18, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice. She is due to be sentenced on November 16, the Met Police said.